• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1980 Crow and Hidatsa women: The influence of economics on religious status Lucy E. Capehart The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Capehart, Lucy E., "Crow and Hidatsa women: The influence of economics on religious status" (1980). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 5601. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/5601 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COPYRIGHT ACT OF 1976 Th i s is a n unpublished m a n u s c r i p t in w h i c h c o p y r i g h t s u b ­ s i s t s . An y f u r t h e r r e p r i n t i n g o f its c o n t e n t s m u s t b e a p p r o v e d BY THE AUTHOR. Ma n s f i e l d L i b r a r y Un i v e r s i t y , qf LIo n t a n a Da t e : J L CROW AND HIDATSA WOMEN: THE INFLUENCE OF ECONOMICS ON RELIGIOUS STATUS By Lucy E . Capehart B.A., Rollins College, 1975 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA 1980 Approved by: Chairman, Board of Examiners Dean, Graduate School^” ~ ~ S ' ~ $ 6 ________________ Date UMI Number: EP41065 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI EP41065 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Capehart, Lucy, M.A., 1980 Anthropology Crew and Hidatsa Women: The Influence of Economics on Religious Status Director: Frank B. Bessac The objectives of this research were to describe the roles Crow and Hidatsa women played in economics and religion and to note any correlations between religious status and economic status. Because the Crew and Hidatsa are historically and linguistically related and because they belonged to the same cultural and environ­ mental area, the controlled comparison method was used. In a con­ trolled comparison study one attempts to note variation among a series of data with the rest of the material being held constant. While the Crow and Hidatsa held many factors in common, they differed in terms of economic roles. Hidatsa women were horticulturalists, while Crow women were primarily gatherers. It was suggested that these differences in economic roles could be correlated with dif­ ferences in religious roles as well. The conclusions drawn from this study were: (1) Hidatsa women had higher economic and religious, status than Crow women; (2) both female control of production and distribution of valued goods and female solidarity groups supportive of female economic activities are as­ sociated with high economic status for women; (3) religious themes that honor female activities are associated with high religious status for women; and (4) there is a tendency for women who have high eco­ nomic status to enjoy high religious status as well. CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS v CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. THEORY AND METHOD 5 Sources Theoretical Material Method III. ECONOMIC ROLES: CROW 13 Percentage and Value of Female Contribution to Subsistence Female Control over the Production and Distribution of Valued Goods Female Solidarity Groups Supportive of Female Economic Activities IV. ECONOMIC ROLES: HIDATSA 23 Percentage and Value of Female Contribution to Subsistence Female Control over the Production and Distribution of Valued Goods Female Solidarity Groups Supportive of Female Economic Activities V. RELIGIOUS ROLES: CROW ............. ..... 34 Important Female Religious Roles Restrictions on Female Religious Roles Ceremonial Motifs that Influenced Female Religious Status iii CHAPTER Page VI. RELIGIOUS ROLES: HIDATSA..................... 44 Important Female Religious Roles Restrictions on Female Religious Roles Ceremonial Motifs that Influenced Female Religious Status VII. OTHER POSSIBLE DETERMINANTS OF FEMALE RELIGIOUS STATUS ......................... 55 Female Rights in Marriage, Divorce and Adultery Reckoning of Descent Residence after Marriage VIII. CONCLUSION. .......................... 59 REFERENCES CITED ............................. 63 iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Frank Bessac, Carling Malouf and Louis Welch for their time, patience and assistance, without which this paper would not have been possible. I would also like to thank Tobie Weist and Susan Sharrock who originally sparked by interest in this field and guided my efforts from the start. Finally, I express deepest gratitude to Kevin Canty and all my friends who provided a constant supply of sympathy and support. v CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This thesis is an attempt to describe the religious and economic roles of nineteenth century Crow and Hidatsa^" women and to note any correlations that might occur between re­ ligious status and economic status for women in these two groups. The controlled comparison method will be used in this study. This method involves the isolation of common denomi­ nators among groups of people and the analyzation of particu­ lar variables that exist between the groups. Northern Great Plains cultures such as the Crow and Hidatsa hold many factors in common: (1) warfare and buffalo hunting as major male activities; (2) extensive use of the horse in trade and transportation; (3) vision quests, medicine bundles and male self-torture to gain supernatural power; (4) political leadership awarded to men having war honors; (5) political, religious and social emphasis placed upon men's societies; (6) the Sun Dance as a major religious ceremony; and (7) adaptation to an environment characterized by extremes in temperature and wind. While holding many factors constant, ^The Hidatsa are also called the "Gros Ventres" on the Fort Berthold Reservation today. In past literature, they have been referred to as the Minitares or the Minitarees. 1 2 the Crow and Hidatsa vary in terms of female economic roles. The Crow were nomadic hunter-horsemen, and Crow women were primarily gatherers. The Hidatsa were village horticulturlaist, and Hidatsa women were primarily gardeners. 1 propose that Hidatsa women had higher economic and re­ ligious status than Crow women and that there is a correlation between high economic status and high religious status. The following factors will be used as indicators of high female economic status: 1. Percentage and value of female contribution to subsistence. 2. Female control over the production and distribution of valued goods, e.g., tanned skins. 3. Female solidarity groups supportive of female eco­ nomic activities. Religious status will be analyzed according to the following points: 1. Types of roles women play in ceremonies, e.g., 2 leader, and restrictions placed upon those roles, e.g., marital status. 2. Basic religious themes that do or do not favor female participation in religion, e.g., emphasis on warfare in Crow religion. 2 The term "role" is used here to indicate the dynamic aspect of status: when an individual puts the rights and duties which constitute a given status into effect, he is performing a role (Linton 1936:114). 3 A look at the historical background of the Crow and Hidatsa during the equestrian era shows that Crow female economic status declined through time, while Hidatsa economic status stayed the same. The equestrian era was marked by the introduction of the horse and gun on the Plains. The Crow and Hidatsa originally belonged to the same tribe. Around the time that the horse reached the Plains, the Crow split from the village Hidatsa and became nomadic hunter horsemen (Frison 1967 :225) . The exact date of this split is uncertain. Denig and Hayden place it at 1776, while Curtis suggests 1676 (Frison 1967:225). The Crow's adoption of the nomadic subsistence tradition had a tremendous impact on both male and female economic roles. With the introduction of guns and horses, hunting became man's most important economic ac­ tivity. Men could kill.buffalo on horseback more swiftly than in the days of communal hunts when drive lines were used. Hunting became more individualistic: the animals a man shot were his, and success at hunting was a source of prestige.for the male (Liberty 1979:141). Men supplied vast amounts of meat to be butchered and skins to be processed into leather goods for trade. After the Crow took up the nomadic subsistence tradition, women's economic roles changed from gardener to gatherer and skin tanner. With an increase in the supply of skins to be tanned and an increase in the demand for skins for trade, women's work became more burdensome (Liberty 1979:141). Tepees 4 also became larger, requiring more work. Horses made moving camp easier, but an increase in the accumulation of personal articles did not (Liberty 1979:141). As hunting became the primary economic activity, the women's role of plant gatherer was less valued than before.

Load more

  77

Copy Link